Keep On Truckin', Ch. 16

Keep On Truckin'
(sequel to IMYOR62)

Chapter Sixteen:
No Place Like Home

There was a distance between the two vehicles sailing the shimmering asphalt on that unusually cool July afternoon. Not a physical distance, which ultimately would have vanished the moment they pulled up side by side at the four-way stop on Main Street. Those who hadn't seen Vee or Mack since before the crash saw that distance more plainly than those who'd been present to observe it growing between them all along. Both were clearly ashamed of their own actions during the previous week. Though certainly not ashamed of each other, both sensed the auras of self-blame miscast as shades of blame rightfully earned from their spouse.

With Lightning's generous financial aid, Mack managed to post his $35,000 bail two days before Vee's release from the hospital. After three days in the ICU and three more in a regular care ward, Vee drove straight from the hospital to the local courthouse for Mack's preliminary hearing, where an uncharacteristically withdrawn (and badly beaten) Chick Hicks announced, without looking either Mack or Vee in the eye, that he was dropping all charges.

The residents of Radiator Springs, gathered at Flo's, now watched the wayward couple approach with arched brows and nervous whispers. Curious enough that they should return in such a manner: Vee driving alongside Mack rather than riding in the trailer, the trailer itself absent from Mack's fifth wheel. More curious still was the distance between the newlyweds. Midge and Gaspar followed shortly behind, hauling Vee's and Lightning's trailers respectively. Bringing up the rear, and least conspicuous of all, were Lightning and Doc.

A muffled metallic banging coming from Lightning's trailer quickly drew everyone's attention away from Vee and Mack, both of whom seized the opportunity to start edging around the crowd they'd been dreading.

"Kin Ah come out now?" came a familiar voice from inside the trailer. "Ah gotta use the little trucks' room, an' Ah don't think this here trailer's got one! Wait, whut's this? Ooh… never mind!"

Lightning gave a panicked shriek and hit a lever near the ramp, which descended (far too slow for the racecar's liking) to reveal Mater's comically raised and wriggling backside. Mater was giggling like a naughty schoolboy as Lightning drove up behind him, ranting about his precious upholstery. When the tow truck failed to respond, his friend managed a quick peek around him, and what he saw nearly made his eyes pop out of his windshield.

"Hey! Get your dirty treads off of my magazines!" he yelled, trying unsuccessfully to shove his way in between Mater and the trailer wall. When that failed, he grabbed hold of his buddy's tow hook and dragged him, brakes set and screeching, down the ramp. Mater, however, was lost among the pages of the latest issue of Jaggs, and couldn't be pulled out of it as easily as he had been pulled from the trailer (which had been no simple task, a fact to which the brand-new skid marks on the ramp testified).

"Dadgum, lookit the headlights on that Chrissi! Ah shore wouldn't mind towin' her down to the ol'—"

"MATER!"

Mater blinked and looked up. "Whu—?"

"Could you possibly use a little finesse the next time you decide to paw through my things?" Lightning growled as he yanked the magazine away from him. "This was autographed to me personally by Asia Carrera—"

"And when did you meet my cousin?" Sally demanded, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

Lightning cringed. "Um, she was at Quentin Tarantino's party last month, remember? Ooh, right. You weren't there." Then he blinked. "Wait, Asia Carrera is your cousin? Your cousin? How come you never told me?"

"Don't change the subject!" Sally snapped. She swiped the magazine out from under his tire and quickly backed away. "You tell me how you got her 'personalized' autograph, and I'll tell you why I never told you!"

Lightning took off pleading after Sally to a general consensus of chuckles and catcalls. Doc watched them go with a sigh.

"All right, Mater," he said, turning to the tow truck, "let's get you over to the clinic. That rear differential noise isn't going to fix itself."

"Ah keep tellin' ya, Doc, Ah'm jist a li'l gassy 'cuz o' them greasy flapjacks Ah et back in Tucson!"

"Which I told you not to eat! That gas will be the least of your worries if you don't get your back bumper over to the clinic pronto!"

"Yessir," Mater mumbled, defeated. He lowered his towing boom and his hook dragged on the ground as he rolled toward the clinic.

Doc was about to follow him when he caught a glimpse of lavender on the outskirts of the crowd. "Not so fast, missy!" he shouted at Vee, who winced at his voice. "You're not off the hook either."

"But you're seeing Mater right now!" Vee pointed out.

"Ladies first! He can wait."


* * *


"First you insist on racing competitively during your second trimester, which is against NASCAR rules, by the way, then you insist on driving most of the way home, unassisted, only a week on the mend from a crash that should have knocked some sense into your head—"

"Ow! That's too tight!"

"—then you have the gall to drive two hundred and eighty-five miles with a misalignment, without even telling me!"

"Because I knew you'd overreact, just like you're doing right now! OW! Damn it, will you stop that already? There is such thing as over-torquing, you know."

"Then hold still for one cotton-picking minute!"

Parked just outside the clinic, Mater glanced timidly up at Mack. "Ah think they's workin' out a lot more'n an uh-lie-mint problem in there," he whispered, his mirror nearest the clinic door pricked as he strained to catch Doc's quiet muttering.

Vee's sudden screech caused both trucks to jump.

"Dodge Ram it, I TOLD you not to do that without warning me first!" she yelled.

"Stay on the lift!" Doc yelled back. "We're almost done here."

"No, I was done ten minutes ago! You're just looking for an excuse to keep torturing me!"

There was a clanging sound, like something metal hitting the floor, followed by the muffled thud of something much heavier. Mack knocked hesitantly on the clinic door.

"Hey, Doc, I'd appreciate it if you'd didn't torture my wife," he said loudly. "When she suffers, I suffer! Literally!"

A moment later the door burst open, whacking Mater in the face as Vee came streaking out of the clinic like a bat out of hell. Doc appeared at the threshold a second later, yelling "Sheriff!"

The squad car was already apprehending the speeder in front of Luigi's Casa Della Tires. Curious about the ruckus, half the town was beginning to gather on the spot.

"I am NOT going back in that clinic and you can't make me!" Vee was protesting loudly. "There is no law that says I can't disobey doctor's orders!"

"No, but there are laws against speeding, young lady," Sheriff argued, barring her way. "It's my duty to uphold those laws, and it's Doc's duty to take care of you and that baby of yours. Now why don't you just let 'im finish up and then you can go home and get some rest."

"I just spent a week in a hospital doing nothing but resting!" Vee snapped back. "I'm going out to do some laps on the obstacle course before it gets dark."

"Oh no you aren't!" Sarge spoke up from the crowd. "The last thing I need on my course is a pregnant car! You're one liability I can't afford!"

"Aw, be nice, man," Fillmore said. "She's not gonna sue you if she gets hurt. She's got way more money than you already. You don't have anything she wants."

Rather than being reassured, Sarge merely growled.

Vee huffed. "Fine. Then I'll go out to the butte instead." She started going around the squad car, but one shout from Doc and Sheriff moved to block her again. Vee huffed even louder. "What?" she snapped, spinning around to face the Hornet.

Doc adjusted his glare to match hers. "Well, I was going to ask you to remember to take your vitamins when you get home, but if you're going to be snippy then maybe I'll just escort you home myself and stay until you've taken every last one. How does that sound? I know you haven't been taking them regularly like I told you to."

"Duh, that's because they're gross! Have you ever tasted any of them? It's like something spoiled that's been eaten, puked up, eaten again, and then puked up a second time!" Vee made an ugly face to illustrate her disgust.

Doc's expression softened somewhat. "Well, I'm sorry they're not gumdrops and jellybeans, but you need to take them, Vee. Remember what the doctors at the hospital told you? You've got a lot more prenatal deficiencies than are normal for a car your size. The baby's taking all the nutrients it needs from you, which is considerably more than you can give it, so you're the one who's going to end up suffering for it." In his first show of tenderness since their return, Doc brushed a tire against hers. "Come on over to Flo's and I'll have her mix those vitamins up in a milkshake for you. How does that sound?"

Vee, who'd been standing rigidly the whole time, relaxed, her scraped and dented frame sagging until her belly nearly touched the ground. The sharp lines of contempt in her face melted into a soft, serene look with just a hint of a smile. Slowly, she nodded. "Okay. As long as I can have strawberry/chocolate swirl," she said, following Doc back to the diner. "With caramel. And whipped cream. And cinnamon. Ooh, and banana slices. And chopped walnuts. And s—"

"All right, let's not overdo it," Doc admonished. "You're just getting something to help you take your vitamins, not ordering your last dessert on death row."

Vee parked at her usual pump while Mater parked eagerly beside her in the spot usually reserved for Mack. Doc quirked a brow at him. "And what do you think you're doing?" he demanded of the tow truck.

"Ah'm havin' whut she's havin'!" Mater declared happily. "But, uh, ixnay on the vitamins," he added in a whisper. "Ah don't want mah shake tuh taste like throw up!"

Though Vee chuckled beside him, Doc didn't look remotely amused. "The only dessert you're getting is your just desserts, if you don't get yourself over to my clinic and up on that lift by the time I count to five!" the Hornet growled. "One…"

With a screeching of tires, Mater vanished before Doc could reach "two." But Doc didn't follow him to the clinic right away. Instead, he stayed at the café until the shake he'd promised Vee had been made (minus all the extravagant toppings) and she had taken the first taste without complaint. The strawberry/chocolate flavor was apparently more than enough to mask the vitamins, judging by the gusto with which Vee downed the shake.

Meanwhile, Mater's astounded comments as he gaped at the various pregnancy and female anatomical charts could clearly be heard from the clinic next door. "Holy shoot! That looks downright painful, that does! Is that really whut's goin' on in there? Wull no wonder Mizz Vee's so plumb ornery, she's got a li'l monster the size of a hubcap crammed up inside 'er! Ain't hardly any room fer the li'l fella tuh turn around, so when it comes out, how's it s'posed tuh—? Yeowy, that's gotta hurt!"

Vee looked up at Mack, parked silently beside her. He blushed slightly, trying fruitlessly to restrain a snicker. Despite her many earlier complaints, Vee was too contented now (and too lazy) to do anything but laugh. Despite her aches and pains and Doc's nagging and her friends' annoying concern for her and the baby, it was good to be home.